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IRON LADY OF INDIA JAYALALITHA LOVE OR LOATH HER?
Friday, 27 April 2007 - 3:52 PM SL Time |  | |
GLAMOUR queen turned grisly politician! She is the new `Iron Lady of India`. The 53-year-old Jayalalitha was once a screen star. Though only a provincial leader, she is, in the words of a political commentator, `a colossus who dominates national politics`. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi loved to be known as the only man in her cabinet. Jayalalitha goes a step further. As chief minister of Tamil Nadu, a southern State, she loves to be known as the only man in the 100 million strong political party she heads. This is surprising because Tamil Nadu, though small, is respected for the intellectual strength, political sagacity, legal acumen and moral rectitude of its people. Indira Gandhi`s power was not resisted because of her Nehru bloodlines. But Jayalalitha has no pedigree to flaunt. Whatever she has achieved -- what has she not achieved? -- she owes it wholly to herself. She models herself on Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi.
Born in poverty in another State, Mysore, with her father dead in her second year, she and her mother found themselves cast away in a heartless man`s world. In sheer despair, they moved to the neighbouring Madras (since renamed Tamil Nadu) State. Forced to fend for themselves, they developed a crushing sense of insecurity. Happily, soon enough, with her youth and good looks on her side, the mother had no difficulty in making a debut in films. Gradually, she managed to get her little daughter admitted to one of the best Convent schools in town, Church Park. Jayalalitha, a once shy, timid, tiny introvert, was so outstanding in her studies that her portrait hangs in her school as a star alumnus with academic excellence as her only passion.
After her matriculation she was very keen on doing law. But her mother, compelled by circumstances, had other ideas. The decision was made. She put her teenage daughter through her paces for a screen career. But Jayalalitha`s heart was not in it. She wished to continue her academic career. Finally, out of necessity, she launched herself on a film career with a bang and soon reached the top. Her academic pursuits continued privately and informally. She took a special interest in Law. Though she had no opportunity of studying the subject at a Law College, through her own efforts she acquired greater legal expertise than any professional lawyer. No wonder, she became a headache to the best of jurists in the country, when, driven to the wall by a spate of corruption cases, she had to fight her own legal battles with only notional support from her counsel.
This is her second five-year term in office. Earlier, from 1991 to 1996, as chief minister, she allegedly committed every conceivable indiscretion and impropriety. But in her party nobody had the courage to question her. There were reports of enormous wealth acquired by her through corrupt means. There was severe criticism in the media of her obscenely flamboyant and extravagant lifestyle as well as her fascist political culture permitting no dissent. She was also accused of having abetted the vulgar excesses indulged in by a favoured upstart family closest to her. But she wouldn`t bother. She believed that she could do anything and get away with it, because God was on her side.
Then came the 1996 poll which resulted in the humiliating debacle of her party. But personally she behaved as though nothing had happened: the same swagger, the same superciliousness, the same stiffness. She wouldn`t accept her defeat gracefully and extend cooperation to the next government. On the contrary, she mounted a strong hate campaign against the winner, Dr M. Karunanidhi, the leader of a rival Dravidian party, alleging that he was behind the more than 40 corruption cases filed against her. Actually she has been convicted in three, though the sentences have been stayed, pending the disposal of her appeals. She strutted about protesting her innocence. Despite her electoral rout, the masses, seduced by her silken eloquence into believing that Dr Karunanidhi and his men had been witch hunting her, stood solidly behind her. In their eyes, she was the Mother Goddess desecrated by political vandals. Angered by Dr Karunanidhi and his party`s clumsy anti-Jayalalitha campaign voters decided to bring her back t o power.
Now, after the May 10, 2001 poll, she is the ruler of Tamil Nadu once again. Her own party has won 132 seats out of the 140 contested. Her faceless and voiceless affiance partners contribute another 64. Thus, with a cosy majority of 196 in a House of 234, her position remains unassailable. The parties supporting her are wholly dependent on her nod for their survival.
She herself had to stay out of the contest, because her nomination papers from four constituencies had been rejected by the Returning Officers for the valid reason that, having been recently convicted in a corruption case, she was not eligible under the law. But, on May 14, 2001, she made history when the Governor, Fathima Geevi, herself a former judge of the Supreme Court, apparently scared of the awesome popularity of Jayalalitha, as reflected in the massive vote favouring her, invited her to form the new Government. Jayalalitha, already unanimously elected leader of her party`s legislators, lost no time in accepting the Governor`s offer.
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Robins
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27 Apr 2007 08:56:00 GMT Report for Abuse
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This article was written in 2001, well she is still a force to recon with, people have mixed feelings about her, specially the SL Tamils.
Recently she snubbed Mahinda Mama too! Chandrica thought she was her friend in India!!
I think she is her own friend and a very clever selfish woman!!! She came from nowhere like her boss and lover MGR!! |
Priyanthy
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27 Apr 2007 08:58:05 GMT Report for Abuse
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Only Indra Gandhi is the 'Iron Lady of India'.....Jeyalalitha, she is the most arrogant woman i have ever come across with.
Edited By - Priyanthy - 27 Apr 2007 09:57:05 GMT |
karunadase
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27 Apr 2007 09:08:45 GMT Report for Abuse
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Jayalalitha holds the record for hosting the Largest wedding banquet
http://www.indianmatchmaker.com/wedrecords/default.asp
Largest wedding banquet Imagine a wedding banquet of 150,000 people, well whether you can imagine or not, there had been a wedding banquet of that size on September 7 1995. A luncheon hosted by Jayalalitha Jayaram, Tamilnadu chief minister and movie star at her foster son's wedding. The banquet was arranged in grounds by the coast in Chennai(the then Madras). |
Robins
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27 Apr 2007 09:19:04 GMT Report for Abuse
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Pri
Dont shoot me I am only the messenger!! Not that I like her arrogance!!
Karu
You are good, yes I remember about her extravagent wedding to her adopted son. This is when Indian poor are starving!!
Edited By - Robins - 27 Apr 2007 09:28:27 GMT |
MarkLevinson
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27 Apr 2007 10:27:50 GMT Report for Abuse
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Robins,
Dont shoot me I am only the messenger!! Not that I like her arrogance!!
Women are arrogant by nature since they are physically frail they have to have some sort of a way to get back at men.......they are capable of slowly and softly killing your soul!!!!! |
Priyanthy
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27 Apr 2007 11:22:23 GMT Report for Abuse
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Women are arrogant by nature
Of course they have to be arrogant in oredr to over come male chauvinism
since they are physically frail
I am having a laugh........Whose theory is this??
Who is physically frail? Can you reproduce a child?
One simple advise, search for the concept 'womanliness' in Psychoanalytic approach......... |
Robins
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27 Apr 2007 11:30:51 GMT Report for Abuse
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ML
Oh I see it that why the women are arrogant? I hope you are only talking about some of the women not all?
Otherwise you know what you and I will be 'slowly' finished. |
Robins
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27 Apr 2007 11:36:20 GMT Report for Abuse
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ML
There you are you have it !! Women are arrogant becse of male chauvanism, not bcse of frailty!!
BTW Soon men can have babies, its possible. Men will be equal then!! |
groovygirl
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27 Apr 2007 12:44:42 GMT Report for Abuse
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There you are you have it !! Women are arrogant becse of male chauvanism, not bcse of frailty!!
Agreed!....however there are some women arrogant and nasty too.
If you look at the history, women have come a long way. I live in a society where women raise their kids by themselves and have great careers etc, they have been my role models. That doesn't mean they are arrogant or hate men, they know how to live w/o them.
In SL, this may be a taboo, correct me if I am wrong
gg |
Robins
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27 Apr 2007 13:23:53 GMT Report for Abuse
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Gg
Its great when women can look after the families when theres no man around!!
But I dont agree with the way western society is going with single parent families! |
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